A short little “Mid Nov. Conditions Report” showing how conditions can change in a blink of an eye. First, a few clips of Crispin Prahl, Eric Roose and crew, getting in a little rare high alpine lake skating action, during the very tiny window that doesn’t always open (this was back on and around 11/13). The weather has been high and dry ever since, until this current system pushed in Wed/Thurs. Giving me my first surprise this past Friday morning (11/20/14), waking to the brown grass of Hyak, half cover with a little fresh snow. By the time I was hitting the sack Friday night, I was thinking my trip earlier that day up and over Summit West to access Lodge Lake, might have been the last time traveling the Cascades in tennies until June?!? 🙂 Let’s hope that is the case! Today, I had a thought of heading up to Summit West to see if my FAT boards could make the 8 or so inches of new snow seem like a little more. Also, I had watched earlier this Fall, the Summit’s new, bad ass, snowcat mowing attachment take the brush under PC chair down lower and cleaner, than I have ever seen. So go figure, as I was sitting on the fence “to ski or not to ski”, my good buddy, Silas Wild pulled me off to the side, of “skiing”, with a phone call letting me know he and Crispin were passing through North Bend heading for Summit West. That did it! 30 minutes later we all were walking up the hill with skins on, to kick of the 2014/2015 Snoqualmie Pass ski season! The skiing was better than we had expected, making me look forward to tomorrow. photo credit/ Eric Roose, alpine skater/Crispin Prahl